Walker provides outstanding blues

In the Morning
Joe Louis Walker
Telarc Blues Over the first nine tracks of In the Morning, Joe Louis Walker deftly careens from one type of blues to another. From the Latin-tinged opener "You're Just About to Lose Your Clown" to the echoes of Louis Jordan on "Joe's Jump," to the inspired gospel of "Where Jesus Leads," Walker displays a mastery of practically every type of blues known to man. But even with all that, the CD, Walker's first for Telarc after a handful of releases on Verve, doesn't even peak until the 10th and final cut, "Strangers in Our House," an earthy acoustic masterpiece straight from the Mississippi Delta. For nearly eight and a half minutes, Walker spins a dark, brooding spell over the listener by evoking the spirits of Robert Johnson and "Mississippi" John Hurt. He growls with a haunting sincerity, "The naked truth is I'm not yours and you're not mine." But such quality can be expected from Walker, who began playing music 35 years ago in San Francisco. He eventually played with the likes of Freddy King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Lightnin' Hopkins, all of whom helped feed the 1960s blues revival by inspiring legions of skinny white boys.Then, in 1975, tired of the excesses of the blues-rock lifestyle, Walker took a sharp turn and hooked up with a gospel quartet called the Spiritual Corinthians, a 10-year partnership that produced the album God Will Provide in 1980. He rediscovered gut-bucket blues in 1985 while performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He toured with the Mississippi Delta Blues Band, then returned to the Bay Area to form the Bosstalkers, with whom he won three consecutive W.C. Handy Awards for contemporary artist of the year. So In the Morning's eclectic mix of fiery soul and cool blues is a natural development in a talented musician's career. Backed by a quartet featuring former Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith, Walker gives a virtual tutorial in playing the blues. So pay attention, you might learn something.